Two ads starring Julia Roberts and Christy Turlington, respectively, from the L’Oreal Group have been banned in the UK after complaints that the images were too heavily Photoshopped. Apart from concern that the overly-airbrushed ads were “misleading” about the effectiveness of the promoted products, British politician, Jo Swinson, condemned the ads for fostering a “false impression of beauty” and criticized the corrosive effects of advertising that led women and girls to “compare themselves unfavourably to the unrealistic images.” L’Oreal has confirmed that some “post production” techniques were used on the images, but maintains the claim that the ads are accurate representations of both women’s appearance and the promoted products.
Julia Roberts’ ad for Lancome‘s Teint Miracle foundation is certainly not as creepy as Christy Turlington’s promo of The Eraser from Maybelline (both brands are owned by the L’Oreal Group). In the Maybelline ad, Turlington’s face is overlaid with strips of cartoon-perfect skin, ostensibly the product of The Eraser’s anti-aging properties. Phrases like “crow’s feet,” “fine lines,” and “dark circles” are sprinkled on top of her face. Maybelline might as well be a mean sorority girl waving around a magic marker at an initiation ceremony.
The Roberts ad might be another story. Lancome defends its use of Photoshop by arguing that the ad is “aspirational,” and it’s certainly more aspirational and less disturbing than the Maybelline image. It does appear that Roberts did some time under the cursor in Photoshop, but her airbrushed ad seems kind of ordinary and even restrained, compared to all the other Photoshopped faces in magazines and on TV. Gratuitous airbrushing is an industry-wide problem which might only be solved by broader legislation, not just a high-publicity attack on a single pair of ads.
Julia Roberts and Christy Turlington L’Oreal Ads Banned Over Airbrushing – DailyMail
Julia Roberts Banned Ad – HollywoodDame
